5 Photography Tips for Beginners from Alexander Heinrichs

Alexander Heinrichs is a professional photographer based in Aschaffenburg, near Frankfurt in Germany.

A visit to his big loft-studio takes one into a fascinating world of advertorial photography. You'll see pieces ranging from still-life to people and fashion. He has been taking pictures for over 30 years and in 2005 he decided to turn his passion into a full-time job. His clients include well-known companies such as Nintendo, DPD, and Adobe. He also does all kinds of post-production like retouching or composing as part of his job.

Here are Alexander's 5 photography tips for beginners:

What is a common mistake you see hobbyist photographers make when shooting and what can they do to fix it?

Most beginners take photographs too quickly. Only a handful take the time to choose the composition, the focal length, or the angle. You should take more time to do things like that before triggering the shutter release; you’ll be a more conscious photographer as a result.

What are the most important pieces of equipment a hobbyist photographer should get in your genre of photography?

Alongside the camera, the most important thing for me is a fast lens with a medium focal length between 50 and 85. When you’re looking at a portrait, what really makes it come to life is the look in the person’s eyes. The best way to bring that out is with a very calm background, which calls for a very wide-open aperture.

Is there a piece of equipment that many hobbyist photographers own which you think is not necessary unless they decide to become professional?

To be honest, I can’t think of anything to say about that right now. Something that most people have but that nobody needs?!?

What should hobbyist photographers who plan to print their photos do to prepare for the early stages of the workflow?

It’s important to have continuous color management; without that, the printout will always look different from the image on the monitor.

In what ways can a good monitor improve your work?

I think a good monitor with a homogeneous display, a broad gamut, and precise color reproduction is the main prerequisite for image processing; as I see it, without that, professional image processing wouldn’t be possible.